II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4006 

To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To reauthorize programs of the Economic Development 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing our Na5 tion’s Value through Economic Support and Tourism in 

6 Our Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘INVEST in Our Commu7 nities Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 Section 3 of the Public Works and Economic Devel10 opment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

2 (12) as paragraphs (10), (11), (12), (14), and (15), 

3 respectively; 

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(8) OUTDOOR RECREATION.—The term ‘out7 door recreation’ means all recreational activities, and 

8 the economic drivers of those activities, that occur in 

9 nature-based environments outdoors. 

10 ‘‘(9) PROJECT PREDEVELOPMENT.—The term 

11 ‘project predevelopment’ means a measure required 

12 to be completed before the initiation of a project, in13 cluding— 

14 ‘‘(A) planning and community asset map15 ping; 

16 ‘‘(B) training; 

17 ‘‘(C) technical assistance and organiza18 tional development; 

19 ‘‘(D) feasibility and market studies; 

20 ‘‘(E) demonstration projects; and 

21 ‘‘(F) other predevelopment activities deter22 mined by the Secretary to be appropriate.’’; and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) (as so re24 designated) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(13) TRAVEL AND TOURISM.—The term ‘trav2 el and tourism’ means any economic activity that 

3 primarily serves to encourage recreational or busi4 ness travel within the United States or from 

5 abroad.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN FEDERAL SHARE. 

7 Section 204 of the Public Works and Economic De8 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘50’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘60’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN STATES, POLITICAL SUBDIVI15 SIONS, AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—In the 

16 case of a grant to a State, or a political subdivision 

17 of a State, that the Secretary determines has ex18 hausted the effective taxing and borrowing capacity 

19 of the State or political subdivision or can otherwise 

20 document that no local matching funds are reason21 ably obtainable, or in the case of a grant to a non22 profit organization that the Secretary determines 

23 has exhausted the effective borrowing capacity of the 

24 nonprofit organization, the Secretary may increase 

25 the Federal share above the percentage specified in 


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1 subsection (a) up to 100 percent of the cost of the 

2 project.’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) SMALL COMMUNITIES.—In the case of a 

5 grant to a political subdivision of a State (as de6 scribed in section 3(4)(A)(iv)) that has a population 

7 of fewer than 10,000 residents, the Secretary may 

8 increase the Federal share above the percentage 

9 specified in subsection (a) up to 100 percent of the 

10 total cost of the project. 

11 ‘‘(5) COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY DISAS12 TERS.—In the case of a grant under section 

13 209(c)(2), the Federal share of the cost of a project 

14 carried out with the grant shall be 100 percent.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PLANNING AND GRANTS FOR ADMIN16 ISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

17 Section 203 of the Public Works and Economic De18 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3143) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Administrative 

21 expenses described in subsection (a) shall include— 

22 ‘‘(1) expenses related to carrying out the plan23 ning process described in subsection (b); 

24 ‘‘(2) expenses related to project 

25 predevelopment; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) expenses related to hiring professional 

2 staff to assist communities in— 

3 ‘‘(A) project predevelopment and the im4 plementation of projects and priorities included 

5 in— 

6 ‘‘(i) a comprehensive economic devel7 opment strategy; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) an economic development plan9 ning grant; 

10 ‘‘(B) identifying and using other Federal, 

11 State, and Tribal economic development pro12 grams; 

13 ‘‘(C) leveraging private and philanthropic 

14 investment; 

15 ‘‘(D) preparing disaster coordination and 

16 preparation plans; and 

17 ‘‘(E) carrying out economic development 

18 activities in accordance with professional eco19 nomic development best practices.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. TOURISM, OUTDOOR RECREATION, AND SUPPORT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 201 of the Public Works 

22 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (d); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In providing 

4 grants under subsection (a) and subject to the criteria in 

5 subsection (b), the Secretary may also consider the extent 

6 to which a project would— 

7 ‘‘(1) benefit highly rural communities without 

8 adequate tax revenues to invest in long-term or cost9 ly infrastructure; 

10 ‘‘(2) increase access to high-speed broadband; 

11 ‘‘(3) support outdoor recreation to spur eco12 nomic development, with a focus on rural commu13 nities; 

14 ‘‘(4) promote job creation or retention relative 

15 to the population of the impacted region with out16 sized significance; or 

17 ‘‘(5) promote travel and tourism.’’. 

18 (b) ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT.—Section 209(c)(5) of 

19 the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 

20 (42 U.S.C. 3149(c)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, travel 

21 and tourism, or natural resource-based’’ after ‘‘manufac22 turing’’. 

23 SEC. 6. TOURISM MARKETING. 

24 Section 2(b) of the Public Works and Economic De25 velopment Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) tourism marketing is an economic develop7 ment tool used by communities for economic devel8 opment and should be considered an eligible use of 

9 economic development funding awarded by the Fed10 eral Government through the Economic Development 

11 Administration.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. ECONOMIC DISTRESS FORMULA. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall review the 

15 economic distress formula under section 301 of the Public 

16 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

17 U.S.C. 3161) and submit to Congress a report that in18 cludes— 

19 (1) recommendations for modifications to the 

20 formula to ensure that all areas, including distressed 

21 areas, are eligible to receive a higher percentage of 

22 Federal funding than those areas currently are eligi23 ble to receive; 


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1 (2) a recommendation on whether to reduce the 

2 non-Federal share for projects carried out with 

3 grants under that Act (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.); and 

4 (3) an analysis of the financial limitations of el5 igible recipients located within counties with a ma6 jority of acreage under Federal management in ac7 cessing Economic Development Administration fund8 ing opportunities. 

9 SEC. 8. OFFICE OF TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Public Works and 

11 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et 

12 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 508. OFFICE OF TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

15 the Economic Development Administration an Office of 

16 Tribal Economic Development (referred to in this section 

17 as the ‘Office’). 

18 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office shall 

19 be— 

20 ‘‘(1) to coordinate all Tribal economic develop21 ment activities carried out by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(2) to help Tribal communities access eco23 nomic development assistance programs, including 

24 the assistance provided under this Act; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to coordinate Tribal economic development 

2 strategies and efforts with other Federal agencies; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(4) to be a participant in any negotiated 

5 rulemakings or consultations relating to, or having 

6 an impact on, projects, programs, or funding that 

7 benefit Tribal communities. 

8 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRAT9 EGY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of the INVEST in Our Com12 munities Act, the Office shall initiate a Tribal con13 sultation process to develop, and not less frequently 

14 than every 3 years thereafter, update, a strategic 

15 plan for Tribal economic development for the Eco16 nomic Development Administration. 

17 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

18 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the IN19 VEST in Our Communities Act and not less fre20 quently than every 3 years thereafter, the Office 

21 shall submit to Congress the strategic plan for Trib22 al economic development developed under paragraph 

23 (1). 

24 ‘‘(d) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall establish a 

25 publicly facing website to help provide a comprehensive, 


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1 single source of information for Indian tribes, Tribal lead2 ers, Tribal businesses, and citizens in Tribal communities 

3 to better understand and access programs that support 

4 economic development in Tribal communities, including 

5 the economic development programs administered by Fed6 eral agencies or departments other than the Department. 

7 ‘‘(e) DEDICATED STAFF.—The Secretary shall en8 sure that the Office has sufficient staff to carry out all 

9 outreach activities under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco12 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

13 3597) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 507 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 508. Office of Tribal Economic Development.’’. 

15 SEC. 9. ESTABLISHMENT OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE LIAI16 SONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Public Works and 

18 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et 

19 seq.) (as amended by section 8(a)) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 509. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE LIAISONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Director of a re23 gional office of the Economic Development Administration 

24 may designate a staff member to act as a ‘Technical AsVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4006.IS S4006

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1 sistance Liaison’ for any State served by the regional of2 fice. 

3 ‘‘(b) ROLE.—A Technical Assistance Liaison shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) work in coordination with an Economic 

5 Development Representative to provide technical as6 sistance, in addition to technical assistance under 

7 section 207, to eligible recipients that are 

8 underresourced communities, as determined by the 

9 Technical Assistance Liaison, that submit applica10 tions for assistance under title II; and 

11 ‘‘(2) at the request of an eligible recipient that 

12 submitted an application for assistance under title 

13 II, provide technical feedback on unsuccessful grant 

14 applications. 

15 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

16 enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with an eli17 gible recipient for the purpose of providing technical as18 sistance to eligible recipients that are underresourced com19 munities that have submitted or may submit an applica20 tion for assistance under this Act.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco23 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

24 3597) (as amended by section 8(b)) is amended by insert25 ing after the item relating to section 508 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 509. Technical assistance liaisons.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. FLEXIBLE HIRING AND DISASTER AUTHORITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Public Works and 

3 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et 

4 seq.) (as amended by section 9(a)) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 510. FLEXIBLE HIRING AND DISASTER AUTHORITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION AUTHORI8 TIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint 

10 and fix the compensation of such temporary per11 sonnel as may be necessary to carry out this Act and 

12 to implement post-disaster economic recovery re13 sponsibilities, without regard to the provisions of 

14 subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

15 Code, governing appointments in competitive service 

16 and compensation of personnel. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT TO POSITION WITHIN

18 EDA.—Notwithstanding chapter 33 of title 5, United 

19 States Code, or any other provision of law relating 

20 to the examination, certification, and appointment of 

21 individuals in the competitive service, the Secretary 

22 may convert a temporary employee appointed under 

23 paragraph (1) to a permanent appointment in the 

24 competitive service in the Economic Development 

25 Administration under merit promotion procedures 

26 if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the employee has served continuously 

2 in that appointment for not less than 2 years; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) the performance of the employee has 

5 been at an acceptable level of performance 

6 throughout the period or periods referred to in 

7 subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(b) DISASTER TEAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—As soon as practicable 

10 after the date of enactment of the INVEST in Our 

11 Communities Act, the Secretary shall establish a dis12 aster team for the deployment of individuals to carry 

13 out post-disaster economic recovery efforts after a 

14 major disaster or emergency has been declared 

15 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

16 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 

17 and an agency has been activated by the Federal 

18 Emergency Management Agency. 

19 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION OF STAFF.—As soon 

21 as practicable after the date of enactment of 

22 the INVEST in Our Communities Act, the Sec23 retary shall designate to serve on the disaster 

24 team, in conjunction with staff of the Depart25 ment— 


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1 ‘‘(i) employees of the Department who 

2 are not employees of the agency; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) in consultation with the heads of 

4 other Federal agencies, employees of those 

5 agencies, as appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(B) CAPABILITIES.—In designating indi7 viduals under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

8 shall ensure that the disaster team includes a 

9 sufficient number of— 

10 ‘‘(i) individuals who are capable of de11 ploying rapidly and efficiently to respond 

12 to major disasters and emergencies; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in conjunction with permanent 

14 agency staff, highly trained individuals em15 ployed full-time to lead and manage the 

16 disaster team. 

17 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure 

18 that appropriate and ongoing training is provided to 

19 members of the disaster team designed under para20 graph (2) to ensure that the members are ade21 quately trained with respect to the programs and 

22 policies of the agency relating to post-disaster eco23 nomic recovery efforts. 

24 ‘‘(4) EXPENSES.—In carrying out this sub25 section, the Secretary may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) use, with or without reimbursement, 

2 any service, equipment, personnel, or facility of 

3 any Federal agency with the explicit support of 

4 that agency, to the extent such use does not im5 pair or conflict with the authority of the Presi6 dent or the Administrator of the Federal Emer7 gency Management Agency under the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist9 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to direct 

10 Federal agencies in any major disaster or emer11 gency declared under that Act; and 

12 ‘‘(B) provide members of the disaster team 

13 with travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

14 of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ15 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

16 57 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 

17 service as a member of the disaster team.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco20 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

21 3597) (as amended by section 9(b)) is amended by insert22 ing after the item relating to section 509 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 510. Flexible hiring and disaster authorities.’’. 

23 SEC. 11. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 agency’’ means— 

3 (A) the Economic Development Adminis4 tration; and 

5 (B) the Department of Agriculture, with 

6 respect to the rural development mission area. 

7 (2) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

8 program’’ means a program administered by a cov9 ered agency that provides funding and technical as10 sistance for rural economic development. 

11 (b) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—Not later than 180 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the heads 

13 of the covered agencies shall enter into an interagency 

14 agreement requiring coordination between the covered 

15 agencies with respect to covered programs. 

16 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The interagency agreement en17 tered into under subsection (b) shall require that the cov18 ered agencies— 

19 (1) share information about existing or planned 

20 projects that have received or will receive funds for 

21 new rural economic development under a covered 

22 program; 

23 (2) coordinate at all levels to support commu24 nities in broadening awareness of, and access to, 

25 covered programs and obtaining additional Federal 


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1 funding opportunities to help address the needs of 

2 local or regional economies; 

3 (3) align the collaborative efforts of the covered 

4 agencies based on current priorities and determine 

5 the extent to which any additional agencies should 

6 be included in the interagency agreement entered 

7 into under subsection (b); 

8 (4) on request from another Federal agency 

9 with authority to award or authorize funds for rural 

10 economic development, provide to that agency any 

11 information the covered agencies possess relating 

12 to— 

13 (A) each entity that has received or will re14 ceive funds under the covered program; and 

15 (B) the geographic scope of rural economic 

16 development in the area in which the project is 

17 carried out; 

18 (5) monitor progress toward achieving outcomes 

19 of the covered agencies relating to rural economic 

20 development; 

21 (6) coordinate with the Council on Rural Com22 munity Innovation and Economic Development es23 tablished by section 6306(b)(1) of the Agriculture 

24 Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–3(b)(1)) 

25 and the Rural Broadband Integration Working 


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1 Group established by section 6214(a)(1) of that Act 

2 (Public Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4746) to assist 

3 communities in addressing and resolving Federal 

4 barriers to administering, fulfilling, or expanding 

5 economic development goals associated with invest6 ments from the covered agencies; 

7 (7) establish, maintain, and update not less fre8 quently than once every 2 years, an effective re9 source guide to boosting economic development in 

10 rural communities, which shall include information 

11 on, and Internet links to, the key priorities and re12 sources of the covered agencies and outline programs 

13 and services that can be used to advance community 

14 and economic development in rural communities 

15 through 4 key focus areas, including— 

16 (A) planning and technical assistance; 

17 (B) infrastructure and broadband expan18 sion; 

19 (C) entrepreneurship and business assist20 ance; and 

21 (D) workforce development and livability; 

22 and 

23 (8) expand, in writing, the joint efforts of the 

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1 velopment with the Department of Housing and 

2 Urban Development, as appropriate. 

3 (d) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The covered agencies shall 

4 periodically update the interagency agreement entered into 

5 under subsection (b). 

6 (e) PUBLIC COMMENT; ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.— 

7 (1) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date on which the covered agencies enter 

9 into the interagency agreement under subsection (b), 

10 the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Ag11 riculture shall jointly seek public comment on— 

12 (A) the effectiveness of the interagency 

13 agreement in facilitating efficient use of funds 

14 for rural economic development; 

15 (B) the availability of Tribal, State, and 

16 local data relating to rural economic develop17 ment and the inclusion of those data in inter18 agency coordination; and 

19 (C) modifications to the interagency agree20 ment that would improve the efficacy of inter21 agency coordination. 

22 (2) ASSESSMENT; REPORT.—Not later than 18 

23 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agri25 culture shall jointly— 


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1 (A) review and assess the comments re2 ceived under paragraph (1); and 

3 (B) submit to the Committees on Environ4 ment and Public Works and Agriculture, Nutri5 tion, and Forestry of the Senate and the Com6 mittees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

7 and Agriculture of the House of Representa8 tives a report detailing any findings and rec9 ommendations from the assessment under sub10 paragraph (A). 

11 SEC. 12. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP12 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Works and 

14 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et 

15 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 219. HOSPITALITY AND OUTDOOR-RECREATION SUP17 PORTING TOURISM (HOST) GRANTS. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF TOURISM, HOSPITALITY, OR

19 SPECIAL EVENT ACTIVITY.—In this section, the term 

20 ‘tourism, hospitality, or special event activity’ means any 

21 economic activity that primarily serves to encourage rec22 reational or business travel within the United States or 

23 from abroad, including tourist attractions, business and 

24 recreational conventions, large entertainment events and 


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1 venues, and promotion or organization of any such activ2 ity. 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients to 

5 support outdoor recreation, travel, and tourism, hospi6 tality, or special event activities to spur economic develop7 ment. 

8 ‘‘(c) GOALS.—A project carried out with a grant 

9 under this section shall be carried out for the goal of— 

10 ‘‘(1) in the case of an infrastructure project— 

11 ‘‘(A) leading to long-term increases in 

12 tourist activity in a region, including in commu13 nities adjacent to National Park System units, 

14 National Forest System land, State parks, na15 tional marine sanctuaries, National Heritage 

16 Areas, Tribal parks, or other natural destina17 tions; 

18 ‘‘(B) using nature-based infrastructure 

19 projects and other projects intended to enhance 

20 public access to outdoor recreation opportuni21 ties; and 

22 ‘‘(C) enhancing the visitor experience or 

23 economic value of the local tourism, hospitality, 

24 or special event industries; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of other projects as determined 

2 appropriate by the Secretary, supporting the outdoor 

3 recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or special 

4 event industries, in a manner consistent with the 

5 National Travel and Tourism Strategy or as rec6 ommended by the United States Travel and Tourism 

7 Advisory Board, if any. 

8 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE USES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

10 may be used— 

11 ‘‘(A) for short-term and long-term eco12 nomic development planning and coordination 

13 of local or regional outdoor recreation, travel, 

14 tourism, hospitality, and special event indus15 tries; 

16 ‘‘(B) to carry out technical assistance 

17 projects to assist local or regional economies 

18 in— 

19 ‘‘(i) the recovery from, and response 

20 to, damage to the outdoor recreation, trav21 el, tourism, hospitality, and special event 

22 industries as a result of a natural disaster 

23 or public health emergency; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) future development of the out2 door recreation, travel, tourism, hospi3 tality, or special event industries; 

4 ‘‘(C) to pay costs associated with obtaining 

5 State, Tribal, county, city, community, or re6 gional tourism, hospitality, or special event ac7 tivity marketing and promotion campaigns, in8 cluding through nonprofit or quasigovernmental 

9 Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs); 

10 ‘‘(D) to carry out construction activities 

11 that support local or regional outdoor recre12 ation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or special 

13 events, including activities involving— 

14 ‘‘(i) construction of new, or improve15 ments to existing, outdoor recreation and 

16 trail infrastructure, including public access 

17 and safety enhancements to that infra18 structure; 

19 ‘‘(ii) nature-based infrastructure 

20 projects to improve access to outdoor 

21 recreation; 

22 ‘‘(iii) improvement of cultural, arts, 

23 convention, special event, outdoor recre24 ation, and tourism facilities, such as visitor 


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1 or tourist information centers, including 

2 through— 

3 ‘‘(I) general accessibility up4 grades, such as increasing disability 

5 access; 

6 ‘‘(II) improving ventilation, heat7 ing, and cooling systems; 

8 ‘‘(III) increasing energy effi9 ciency; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) incorporating additional re11 newable energy generation associated 

12 with that infrastructure, including 

13 zero-emission vehicle fleets and charg14 ing infrastructure; 

15 ‘‘(iv) construction of workforce train16 ing facilities in order to carry out capacity 

17 building programs; 

18 ‘‘(v) water or wastewater and 

19 stormwater improvements; 

20 ‘‘(vi) pier construction and improve21 ments; and 

22 ‘‘(vii) accessibility enhancements; 

23 ‘‘(E) to pay costs associated with upgrades 

24 and retrofits, including filtration and sanitation 

25 and physical modifications to existing local or 


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1 regional outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, 

2 hospitality, or special event infrastructure, such 

3 as convention centers, large event spaces, camp4 sites, or associated community attractions, with 

5 precautions to provide for safe worker, traveler, 

6 or event environments to increase travel and 

7 tourism activities or to make the infrastructure 

8 more functional as a result of a natural disaster 

9 or a public health emergency; 

10 ‘‘(F) to establish programs to provide as11 sistance to businesses in local or regional out12 door recreation, travel, tourism, hospitality, or 

13 special events industries— 

14 ‘‘(i) for development; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to recover from the impacts of a 

16 major disaster or emergency declared 

17 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re18 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or a public health 

20 emergency declared under section 319 of 

21 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 247d); or 

23 ‘‘(iii) for expansion of programs; 

24 ‘‘(G) to carry out workforce training, re25 cruitment, and research programs that support 


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1 the outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hospi2 tality, or special event industries to improve the 

3 skills of, and job opportunities for, workers in 

4 those industries, including through a program 

5 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 

6 (commonly known as the ‘National Apprentice7 ship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), and other work 

8 and learn models; 

9 ‘‘(H) to pay costs associated with pro10 viding information to visitors about the health 

11 and safety protections, guidance, or require12 ments of Federal, State, Tribal, or local govern13 ments and businesses in the wake of a natural 

14 disaster or a public health emergency; and 

15 ‘‘(I) as applicable, and a result of a nat16 ural disaster or a public health emergency to 

17 pay the costs of salaries and expenses associ18 ated with the operations of the eligible recipi19 ent, other than salaries and expenses of the ex20 ecutives of the eligible recipient, if the appli21 cant— 

22 ‘‘(i) demonstrates the capacity to 

23 maintain the positions for which the funds 

24 are used; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates that the positions 

2 for which the funds are used are tem3 porary or seasonal. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXAMPLES.—Examples of activities that 

5 comply with the eligible uses described in subpara6 graphs (A) through (I) of paragraph (1) include ac7 tivities that involve— 

8 ‘‘(A) media and marketing; 

9 ‘‘(B) installing or constructing visitor ki10 osks; 

11 ‘‘(C) installing interpretive signage; 

12 ‘‘(D) building improvements; and 

13 ‘‘(E) support or technical assistance for 

14 small businesses, including activities that bring 

15 public awareness to those small businesses. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—Amounts provided under 

17 this section may not be used— 

18 ‘‘(A) for recruitment efforts to bring in or 

19 host particular events, such as sporting com20 petitions or other activities; or 

21 ‘‘(B) to invest in facilities, events, or oper22 ations that are not open or broadly available to 

23 the general public. 

24 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH BIA.—In carrying out 

25 this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with, as approVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4006.IS S4006

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1 priate, the Tribal Tourism Grant Program of the Office 

2 of Indian Economic Development of the Bureau of Indian 

3 Affairs to support Tribal communities when funding pro4 vided under that grant program is helpful in developing 

5 or expanding the outdoor recreation, travel, tourism, hos6 pitality, and special event economies of those Tribal com7 munities. 

8 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

9 eligible recipients that seek to carry out an activity that— 

10 ‘‘(1) is based on long-term, regionally oriented, 

11 coordinated, and collaborative economic development 

12 or redevelopment strategies that foster economic 

13 growth and resilience; 

14 ‘‘(2) will promote workforce development; or 

15 ‘‘(3) will involve a minority-owned, rural, Native 

16 American, or otherwise underserved small business 

17 concern. 

18 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATION RELATING TO INDIAN TRIBES, 

19 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGA20 NIZATIONS.—In providing a grant under this section to 

21 an eligible recipient that is an Indian tribe, a tribal organi22 zation (as defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 

23 U.S.C. 4352)), or a Native Hawaiian organization (as de24 fined in that section), the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) may consider whether the Indian tribe, 

2 tribal organization (as so defined), or Native Hawai3 ian organization (as so defined), as applicable, has 

4 matching funds from other sources to carry out an 

5 activity; and 

6 ‘‘(2) shall not require the Indian tribe, tribal 

7 organization (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian or8 ganization (as so defined), as applicable, to provide 

9 matching funds from other sources to receive a 

10 grant under this section. 

11 ‘‘(h) REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under 

13 this section, the Secretary shall distribute the funds 

14 to eligible recipients in each region served by the 

15 Economic Development Administration in accord16 ance with the distribution parameters described in 

17 paragraph (2)(A). 

18 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The distribution pa20 rameters referred to in paragraph (1) shall in21 clude consideration of each of the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) Using the most recent data from 

23 the Quarterly Census of Employment and 

24 Wages and the Current Employment Sta25 tistics, employment in the leisure and hosVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4006.IS S4006

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1 pitality sectors (other than food service 

2 businesses) as a percentage of total em3 ployment in States in the region, using a 

4 5-year average. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Using the most recent data from 

6 the Arts and Cultural Production and Out7 door Recreation Satellite Account, employ8 ment in arts and cultural production and 

9 outdoor recreation as a percentage of total 

10 employment in States in the region, using 

11 a 5-year average. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The number of international and 

13 domestic visitors in States in the region, 

14 using data from the Department or an15 other source as the Secretary determines 

16 to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The impacts of natural or eco18 nomic disasters, or public health emer19 gencies, on the outdoor recreation, travel, 

20 tourism, hospitality, or special event indus21 tries in States in the region. 

22 ‘‘(v) Any other data that the Sec23 retary determines reliably measures the 

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1 ism, hospitality, or special events to the 

2 economy of a State. 

3 ‘‘(B) OUT OF DATE, DISCONTINUED, OR

4 INACCURATE DATA SOURCES.—If the Secretary 

5 determines that a data source described in 

6 clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) is out of 

7 date, discontinued, or otherwise inaccurate, the 

8 Secretary may substitute other data sources to 

9 obtain the employment statistics described in 

10 those clauses, subject to the condition that the 

11 Secretary provides to Congress a report describ12 ing the new data source used by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(i) OUTDOOR RECREATION SET-ASIDE.—Of the 

14 amounts made available for each fiscal year to carry out 

15 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 

16 40 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible recipi17 ents for activities that benefit the local outdoor recreation 

18 sector. 

19 ‘‘(j) RURAL SET-ASIDE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

21 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 20 

23 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re24 cipients located in, or that serve, a rural area (as de25 fined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm 


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1 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a))), 

2 with a particular focus on rural areas that are lo3 cated in distressed or underserved communities. 

4 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali5 fied eligible recipients located in, or that serve, a 

6 rural area (as so defined), to carry out paragraph 

7 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

8 that paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(k) NATIVE AMERICAN SET-ASIDE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

11 available for each fiscal year to carry out this sec12 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 5 

13 percent is used to provide assistance to eligible re14 cipients that are Indian tribes, tribal organizations 

15 (as defined in section 3 of the NATIVE Act (25 

16 U.S.C. 4352)), and Native Hawaiian organizations 

17 (as defined in that section). 

18 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—If there are not sufficient quali19 fied eligible recipients that are Indian tribes, tribal 

20 organizations (as so defined), or Native Hawaiian 

21 organizations (as so defined) to carry out paragraph 

22 (1), the Secretary may waive the requirement under 

23 that paragraph.’’. 

24 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 204(c) of the Public 

25 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 3144(c)) (as amended by section 3(2)(B)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In the case’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (6), 

5 in the case’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) HOST GRANT TO INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL

8 ORGANIZATIONS, OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZA9 TIONS.—In the case of a grant to an Indian tribe, 

10 a tribal organization (as defined in section 3 of the 

11 NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 4352)), or a Native Ha12 waiian organization (as defined in that section) for 

13 a project under section 219, the Federal share of the 

14 cost of the project shall be 100 percent.’’. 

15 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

16 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco17 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

18 3597; 118 Stat. 1767) is amended by inserting after the 

19 item relating to section 218 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 219. Hospitality and Outdoor-Recreation Supporting Tourism (HOST) 

grants.’’. 

20 SEC. 13. FUNDING FOR HOST GRANTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Public Works and 

22 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3231 et 

23 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 705. FUNDING FOR HOST GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘Of the amounts made available to carry out this Act 

3 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, $100,000,000 

4 shall be used to carry out section 219, of which 3 percent 

5 shall be used for the administrative costs of carrying out 

6 that section, including for maintaining the distribution pa7 rameters described in subsection (h)(2) of that section.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

9 contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Eco10 nomic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 552; 112 Stat. 

11 3597; 118 Stat. 1772) is amended by inserting after the 

12 item relating to section 704 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 705. Funding for HOST grants.’’. 

Æ 


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